Red Wings' Johan Franzen: Exempt from Vegas expansion draft

Franzen (concussion) is exempt from the expansion draft, per an agreement with the NHLPA, Craig Custance of ESPN reports.

On Tuesday, the NHL released a list of 12 players -- including Franzen -- who will not be exposed in the Las Vegas expansion draft. The commonality between said players is that they're all dealing with long-term injuries, and in several cases, unlikely to play again despite possessing active contracts. For example, Franzen -- also known as "The Mule" -- remains on the books for Detroit through the 2019-20 season, but he hasn't played since October of 2015.